


Repercussions

by DestructivelyConstructive



Series: Drabbles [5]
Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: But just because he's sorry, Doesn't mean he's absolved of guilt, Drabble, F/M, I am so done, I wasn't sure how to write concequences, I'm just so done antagonizing over this, Strickler is sorry, Take your daily dose of angst and leave, i just need to stop rereading this, justified rage, not really - Freeform, please tell me if you like it, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 04:15:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12927234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestructivelyConstructive/pseuds/DestructivelyConstructive
Summary: I can't think of an honestly compelling summary for this, so I ask that you venture out on a limb and take a look.





	Repercussions

When Barbara woke up, she was in her room with no recollection of how she got there. The last thing she remembered was Jim starting to act out. Then... nothing. Wait, she had been starting to see Walter. They were having tea.

So had he dropped her off? She didn't remember getting into any vehicle. Maybe if she called him...

She blindly fumbled for her phone, knocking her glasses of the bedside in the process, bu she finally found it by her bedside lamp. Lazily, she pulled it over to her and switched it on. For a moment, she squinted against the glare of the screen, pain shooting through her eyes to her temples. Then she bravely opened her eyes a bit more, squinting to make out the information on her lock screen. Something caught her attention, and she jolted up, falling out of her bed and scrabbling for her glasses.

Once they were haphazardly perched on her nose, she grabbed her phone again and desperately rereading the information, praying that it was wrong. But it wasn't and she felt panic unfurl in her chest.

She scrambled up and wrenched open her door, fear making her motions jerky and uncoordinated.

“Jim! Jim are you home!?” She called.

He might not be, with the light streaming through the blinds and downstairs windows, but it was a weekend. There weren't any sounds coming from the kitchen, and she frantically searched the house. Her car was missing, but she was going to ignore that in favor of finding her son.

When it became apparent that Jim wasn't home, she hurriedly pulled up her contact list and tried his phone. After the fifth time of being sent to voice mail, she tried to call Walter. When she couldn't make contact with him, she crossed the street, nearly running to the Domzalski household.

She just barely stopped herself from pounding down their door, and tapped her foot until Toby showed up at the door.

Hey, Dr. Lake. W-what's up?” He asked, his voice lacking his usual bright inflection, and his eyes dim.

“I'm so sorry for showing up like this, but I need help. I can't find or contact Jim, and I can't remember the pas few months, and- and” She cut herself off as her fear manifested itself in the form of tears, and the hefty boy in front of her panicked.

“Hey, hey, Dr. Lake, why don't you head back to your place and I'll be over in a few, okay?” He soothed, resting a hand on her arm.

Wordlessly she nodded turned and walked back across the street towards her home. Once she was inside, she called their phones again. Jim's rang through and Walt picked up. He took a breath and started to say something. Then he hung up.

' _Why did he hang up?_ ' she though despairingly. ' _What was going on?_ '

Fortunately, she wasn't left to her thoughts for long as Toby knocked on the door, accompanied by that girl that stayed with her son in the hospital.

“We need to show you something Dr. Lake” Toby said glumly.

For a moment, ice lanced through her heart, just before the girl – Claire? – swooped in.

“It's nothing bad! Well, not all bad, but it's just that you won't believe us without this thing.” She hurriedly supplied.

Barbara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and nodded slowly. With whatever her son was hiding from her, whatever was going on and what she couldn't remember, she was willing to go along with anything that might shed some light on the situation.

“We just need to make a call first.” Toby said, already stepping outside and pulling out his phone.

So that left her with the girl, sitting in awkward silence. Her brown eyes glanced around the house before settling on her fidgeting hands. Barbara sat at the dinner table with her hands folded in front of her, puzzling over what she had said.

“Claire? It is Claire, right?” She said hesitantly.

When her dark eyes locked onto her face, and nodded in confirmation, she continued.

“What is the thing you need to show me so I'll believe you?”

“Umm...” Claire returned, pressing her lips into a thin line, and darting her eyes to the window that peered into the backyard.

Barbara turned to follow her gaze and saw Toby, sweet-tempered Toby, pacing and gesturing wildly, his face twisted with anger. His eyebrows were drawn low to his eyes, which were blazing and teary while his face was beginning to turn red in blotches.

“We... need permission to show you.” She finally said.

The Lake matriarch felt resentment flare behind her eyes, or maybe that was the beginnings of another headache. These kids, and whoever was in the shadows, knew something about her boys and what she couldn't remember, and she couldn't find out what it was without _permission_ from whoever it was. Well, she would at least try to exercise some agency in this mess.

“Tell me what's going on and we'll worry about that when – if – it comes up.”

Claire curled her lips over her teeth and frantically glanced around. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, presumably to center herself. When she opened her eyes, she released her breath and moved closer to her.

“Alright. You probably won't believe me if we don't get the go-ahead, but you have a right to hear it.”

Barbara simply rose a brow to her. “This is about my son and boyfriend. We'll see.”

The teenager cringed at the term she (loosely) applied to Walter, but the Lake woman shrugged it off.

Then she proceeded to tell her the most far-fetched story she had ever heard. Trolls and Changelings, like it was right out of Pan's Labyrinth. And apparently her son was a 'Trollhunter', no, THE Trollhunter, while Walt was a changeling. Then she proceeded to tell her about how her son had gone gallivanting to who-knows-where to stop a troll who was played off like the mythical anti-christ, complete with endless bloodlust and revenge-mongering.

All-in-all, it sounded like an elaborate campaign in a roleplaying game. And if it had been in any other context, she would have thought it was just that.

“And I can already tell you don't believe me...” Claire trailed off.

“Well... it does seem a bit surreal...” Barbara eventually returned.

Then the silence descended once again, with a muffled words from the backyard. For a few moments, Claire wrung her hands together while Barbara put her head in her hands, skewing her glasses over them as she did so. Then she took a deep inward breath and let it out.

“What happened the night Jim was brought into the hospital?”

She could practically feel the young girl startle out of whatever reverie she was in.

“W-What?”

“It wasn't coyotes.” Barbara stated.

“You mentioned something about gnomes having sharp teeth and horned heads. Or was it goblins?”

“Uh... Goblins. It was the first night I was really 'introduced' to this whole thing.”

Barbara sighed heavily. She _knew_ he had been lying to her. Deliberately lying to her about putting himself in monumental danger. She didn't want to believe that he would do such a thing, and she wouldn't believe it until she had substantial proof.

“What about the lapse in my memory?”

“I – uh – I'm, I'm not qualified to tell you about that. You need to hear it from someone else.”

“Fair enough.”

The back door slammed open and Toby walked in, looking irritated but triumphant.

“We got the go-ahead, so let's go.”

“How did Vendel take it?”

“Surprisingly well. It was Blinky I had to convince. Said it wasn't our place. Like he agreed for the most part, he just thought Jim should be the one to tell her.”

“Ah.”

Barbara stamped out the indignation that flared in her chest. She wasn't sure whether it was from being so thoroughly out of the loop, or the way the two off them were talking, but it wouldn't get her anywhere. So she sighed again – she was doing that a lot, wasn't she? – and got up.

“So where am I taking you kids?”

They exchanged a look and smiled nervously. Quickly, Toby played it off like he played off most of his slight blunders.

“It's not that far Dr. Lake. Small town and all.”

“No, I insist.” She rebuked, taking on that certain edge.

“We'll take my car.”

The looks they exchanged were alarmed, and they both moved to block the way to the garage. She put her hands on her hips and leveled them with an incredulous look.

“It's really not that far!” Toby opened.

“And wouldn't be nice to go for a walk?” Claire added. “It's such a nice day out.”

Barbara glanced out the window and had to agree with the girl. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, occasionally obscured by fluffy clouds. Birds were singing and their region was at the height of late spring.

“Alright.” She conceded with a huff.

“Great! Let's start going now.”

The two turned on their heels and made their way to the front door. With a huff of air let out through her nose, she followed after them. Then she stared at the massive crack in the wood. That wasn't there the last she remembered.

“What happened to my door?”

“Uh...”

“That'll be explained when we get where we're going too.” Toby interjected.

She felt her eye twitch at the half answer. She knew that their story was far-fetched, and Claire had given her only the barest outline of events, but she wanted to know what happened to her front door. She wanted to know why her life had spontaneously combust when she wasn't looking. Or rather why she couldn't remember when it did. And above all else, she wanted to know what happened to her son and her... not boyfriend exactly, but close enough to call him that.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a calming breath.

“Fine. Okay, let's go.”

She may have opened the door with more force than necessary. Maybe. Most likely. Yes, she definitely did.

The kids hurriedly hopped out the door and she trailed after them, yanking the door shut and locking it behind her. They walked in near total silence, broken only by the birds and other scenery components. The two kept exchanging nervous looks all the while.

Eventually, after a detour through uncut wilderness, they stood in the canal.

“So what now?”

She was not given a verbal answer, as Claire simply produced a glowing orange attached to a small hilt. She drew an arch that glowed blue then pressed her hand to it. Then it caved in on itself and turned into a swirling portal.

She was snapped out of a stupor that she didn't know she was in by Toby's voice.

“After you, Dr. Lake”

Barbara glanced at the duo and bit her lip. Then she sighed again, and stepped through. There was a strange tingling sensation all over her body, and then she was standing in a faintly lit, blue tinged cavern. She heard the kids come in after her, and move to her right.

She followed them down a glowing crystal staircase into another, much larger cavern, pulsing with the warm light of the MASSIVE orange crystal that stood in the center of the cavern, and sparkling with countless other lights. They lead her down the steps and through what seemed to be a market. The stone beings that were tending to the various stands paid them no mind as they cleaned up crystals littered everywhere. Some were dragging some disturbingly realistic statues away from view.

The kids looked grim as they glanced at the vendors and the heavy lifters and their faces hardened further when they rounded a corner and were presented with another statue. But there was a different air around this one, one that demanded a bit more... Respect? Reverence? Well, whatever it was, the area was a lot quieter. An in front of the kind and oddly comforting statue was another stone creature, one with a large head and four arms.

“Hey Blinky.” Toby called out with a flat voice.

The stone creature turned around and leveled them with a slightly startled, six-eyed stare.

“Ah! Tobias. Claire, and of course, Barbara. It's good to see you all again.”

Barbara watched Claire walk over to the creature and start talking quietly. Then she turned her gaze else where, wandering over the scenery until she saw a flash of white. Is that – ?

“What is my car doing down here?' She asked sharply.

The three of them flinched.

“Well, yes. That's part of the reason we're down here. Right this way. It's time to reintroduce you to Troll Market.”

“Reintroduce?”

And aside from that incredulous question, she was lead to a secluded place where she was regaled with the full version of her son's epic tale of blunders and heroism and she found herself feeling more betrayed and hurt the longer it went on. By the end, her vision was blurry with tears, her face was hot, and her cheeks were stained and blotchy. Her heart twisted in her chest and her stomach heaved. Jim had been lying to her about all those injuries – Bruises, cuts, sprained limbs, _scars_ – and what he had been doing when he was out.

And to top it all off, the man she was so attracted to; the one she had been beginning to date, had been using her like a pawn to get an unobstructed shot at her boy. He had been using her as leverage to _kill_ _her child_. Maim. Whatever he had been planning. He had been _using_ her to get to her _son_.

Her heart twisted gain, and rage bubbled in the pit of her stomach. She wanted so badly to scream her frustrations, but she just barely kept herself under control.

“I want to hear it from one of them.” She finally stated.

They all shared a look with on another, and Blinky began to speak.

“That wouldn't be possible at the moment...”

She nodded in understanding, even if that dagger of emotions twisted about. Jim was in the Darklands, Presumably to his death, and Strickler was who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what. But she still had a hard time believing this crazy story without their own accounts confirming the tale.

“It might not be as implausible as you think, Blinkous.”

Barbara's head shot up and her companions whirled around to see Strickler standing in the entryway, with his arm in a sling, and his face twisted into a grimance.

“What on Earth are you doing here?!” The troll demanded, while Claire launched into a tirade of angry or surprised Spanish. Toby just gave him a venomous glare.

“I was making my way to a suitable location when Barbara here repeatedly rang my phone. I had a feeling about what it was, so I made my way back here.”

Before any of them could say anything more, she got to her feet and moved, almost stumbled, toward him.

“Walt, is it true? Is everything they said true?”

He opened his mouth to reply, then closed his mouth and looked at the group behind her.

“Just how much did you tell her?”

“Everything.” Came the deadpan replies.

The man winced and looked back to her, his green eyes pained and sorrowful. Her stomach twisted as something began to unfurl.

“Yes. It's all true, but before you curse at me and throw me out on my ear, just let me say that I am sincerely sorry for what I put you through by doing to you what I did. I regret my actions deeply, and I regret that you were hurt by mine and Jim's secrets, and my over-reaching ambition.”

He looked at her face imploringly, his eyes begging for her forgiveness, but clearly not expecting it.

“I almost lost you.” He said quietly, almost shy as he uttered it under his breath.

She stared at him, agape and silent. And he held her stare, glancing here and there, sinking into his shoulders.

“You already have.” She finally replied as the uncomfortable seed blossomed into outrage and anguish.

“You lied to me and used me. You made it so Jim couldn't fight you without hurting me and you held it over his head for _months_. Not to mention the _ancient and uncontrollable assassin_ you sicced on him! You, you...! I can't even begin to articulate how incensed I am! I'm hurt, and confused, and so, so _angry_! And now, because of your _ambition_ , my boy is somewhere where I can't reach him! He's off to save the world from something the most people don't even know _exists_ , and I - “ Her voice broke horribly. “I might never see him again...”

The tears began anew at the prospect of never seeing her son again. Never being able to hold him in her arms. A sob tore from her throat at the thought.

Walt reached out a hand, his expression pained, and her face hardened.

“Barbara, I - ”

“You're input is appreciated. You're welcome to depart.”

The man winced, withdrawing his hand while his emerald eyes took a dark, sad tone to them. He turned and began to walk away, He paused after a few steps and looked back to her.

“I don't expect you to forgive me Barbara, but I hope that I might be able to reconcile with you in the future.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded.

“Goodbye Walter.”

He left and she sunk back into a seat, suddenly overwhelmed by everything she was feeling. She put her face in her hands, skewing her glasses over her fingers.

She wanted to know where her boys had gone.

Now she knew, and she wished she didn't.

**Author's Note:**

> The characters all dug in their heels and refused to work with me. I'm done antagonizing over this and stressing about character realizations that have recently come to my attention. I needed to get this out before Season 2 was released, because I know that it's was gonna do this sort of thing for me if I didn't work fast.  
> Anyway, I hope people like this to at least some degree, happy holidays all.


End file.
